Ryan Day details plan to adjust when NCAA House Settlement determines roster size

The House Settlement has loomed over college football programs this spring as coaches are looking to plan for the future. Now, the potential roster limits, have become a major focus for coaches like Ohio State‘s Ryan Day.

One proposed condition of the House Settlement would be roster limits. In football, the proposed limit is 105 players, which is fewer than most teams currently carry. However, Judge Claudia Wilken, who is in charge of approving the settlement, has recently called on attorneys to adjust the language regarding the roster limits. That has, again, led to changes in how some coaches are planning to adjust to the future size limits.

“So, we’re looking at increasing it to 90 [scholarships],” Ryan Day said. “That’s what the conversations have been, and then, like you said, it’s difficult when you think it’s going to be 105 and now they’re saying maybe it won’t go to 105, but if it does we better make sure we can pivot quickly.”

Earlier in April, Wilken gave attorneys 14 days to change the language so that House Settlement would either phase in or grandfather roster limits as a part of the agreement. Assuming that change occurs, Ryan Day will be able to avoid cutting down to 105 players.

“So, if the 105 cap isn’t put into play, we’ll operate at right around 120, 121, like we’ve been,” Day said. “Those are kind of the parameters that we’re working with right now, knowing we might have to pivot quickly, which I know is tough for a lot of those guys who are on the fence. So, that’s kind of why we wanted to make sure we’re transparent but this is kind of the way it is in college football right now. You’ve got to be able to adapt quickly and move on the run.”

Ryan Day isn’t the only coach who’s expressed some frustrations with the roster limits being imposed. Penn State head coach James Franklin recently shared a similar sentiment, adding that he doesn’t like that there will be athletes who lose their opportunities thanks to the smaller roster sizes.

“The easy thing to do is throw up your hands, get frustrated,” Day said. “But just try to adapt and communicate well and make sure we have everything we need.”

Under the currently proposed House Settlement, football won’t be the only sport impacted by roster limits. Men’s and women’s basketball would be set to 15, baseball would be 34, men’s and women’s soccer would be 28, softball would come in at 25, and volleyball would be limited to 18 players.

NCAA, power conferences release statement after judge delays final approval of House settlement

Following the order by Judge Wilken to rework the language regarding roster limits, the NCAA and power conferences released a statement of their own. In it, they emphasized that getting an agreement approved remains their goal.

“We are closely reviewing Judge Wilken’s order,” the statement read. “Our focus continues to be on securing approval of this significant agreement, which aims to create more opportunities than ever before for student-athletes while fostering much-needed stability and fairness in college sports.”